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A Zambian healthcare advocacy group has called on the government to publicly disclose the findings of a forensic audit into the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA), saying greater transparency was needed as authorities undertake a major restructuring of the agency.
Medical for Quality Healthcare in Zambia (MQHZ) Director General, Dr. Quincy Mwabu, said Zambians had a right to know how public funds allocated to healthcare and medicines have been managed, following government’s decision to separate all ZAMMSA staff in what it described as an effort to reset the institution.
Mwabu said reported weaknesses in procurement, warehousing and distribution were concerning, particularly amid reports of irregular procurement at inflated prices, unaccounted-for stock, missing system records and alleged diversion of medicines intended for public health facilities.
“These are not merely administrative shortcomings. They have a direct bearing on the quality of healthcare and the lives of patients who depend on public health facilities for essential medicines,” he said.
He said concerns over weaknesses in Zambia’s medicines supply chain had been raised by various stakeholders for years, making corrective action overdue.
“MQHZ believes that public resources allocated to medicines must be protected and every medicine procured for a patient must reach the intended health facility,” Mwabu said.
Mwabu commended the government for taking action to reset ZAMMSA and for assuring the public that the separation of staff would not disrupt supplies, but said the assurance needed to be supported by measures to ensure hospitals and health centres continued receiving essential medicines without interruption.
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He also called for accountability based on the audit findings, saying those found to have engaged in wrongdoing should face the appropriate legal and administrative processes while employees not implicated in wrongdoing should not be unfairly associated with institutional failures.
“Those found to have been involved in wrongdoing should be dealt with in accordance with the law and established procedures, while innocent employees should be protected from being unfairly associated with institutional failures,” he said.
Mwabu said the restructuring should go beyond changing personnel and focus on strengthening procurement controls, stock management, record-keeping, warehousing, distribution and monitoring systems.
“Changing personnel alone will not be enough if the systems that allowed these weaknesses to occur remain unchanged,” he said.
As the government advertises positions under a new lean structure, Mwabu urged authorities to base recruitment on competence, integrity and professional qualifications, saying stronger accountability and internal controls were necessary to protect Zambia’s national medicines supply chain.
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